Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak , who played Mel Gibson 's youngest daughter in `` The Patriot , '' died Saturday at her home in Houston , her mother said Sunday . She was 21 .

`` We lost our girl , '' Helen McCole Bartusiak told CNN .

While investigators have not determined a cause of death , Bartusiak had been suffering from epileptic seizures in recent days , according to her mother .

`` She was a kind and really beautiful girl , '' her mother said .

Bartusiak 's most visible role was as the young daughter of Mel Gibson 's Revolutionary War `` Patriot '' character in the 2000 movie .

Her movie acting career began when she was just 6 in 1999 with a role in `` The Cider House Rules . ''

She played the daughter of Michael Douglas ' character in `` Do n't Say a Word '' in 2001 .

Her last film role was the lead in `` Sick Boy , '' a low-budget thriller released in 2012 .

Bartusiak had been preparing to produce and direct her first feature film in recent months , her mother said .

Her boyfriend found Bartusiak sitting up in her bed in the garage apartment adjacent to her parents ' Houston home , her mother said . `` We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there . ''

Her mother said she started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her daughter before paramedics arrived . `` They were working on her for 45 minutes and could not get a heartbeat , '' she said .

`` I 've done CPR on that kid more than one time and it just did n't work this time , '' Bartusiak said .

She 's suffered epileptic seizures since she was a baby , although they disappeared for a few years until returning last week , her mother said .

7 things to know about epilepsy

Bartusiak 's mother spent Sunday morning looking through photos of her actress daughter for the funeral . The images include pictures with Presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush , Mel Gibson , Dennis Hopper and Michael Douglas , she said .

`` The girl has lived such an amazing life , '' she said .

People we 've lost in 2014

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Bartusiak , 21 , suffered from epileptic seizures in recent days , her mother says

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`` We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there , '' her mother says

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Bartusiak played the young daughter of Mel Gibson 's `` Patriot '' character

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Her movie acting career began when she was just 6